The round of 64 at the Cincinnati PPA featured a few early exits and upsets. Team Selkirk conquered the first day of main-draw play, with newcomers shining and regulars cruising through.
‘Emerging Pro’ Shannon Pretorius downs No. 13 Dominique Schaefer
Shannon Pretorius may not be a familiar name on the PPA, but she has earned gold on the APP Tour. On Monday, Pretorius worked her way through pro singles qualifiers, coming in fourth out of fifteen competitors looking to break through to the main draw.
Pretorius’s first main-draw matchup was against Dominique Schaefer, the 13-seed with a PPA silver and bronze medal to her name. Pretorius played steadily, inching forward with point runs before closing out the first game. Schaefer opened game two with more firepower, leading 6-3, but Pretorius battled back to secure the 11-7, 12-10 victory. Pretorius now faces the No. 23 Marcela Hones for a spot in the round of 16.
A Bright Future for Team Selkirk
One of the highlights of the day was seeing athletes from different generations of Team Selkirk clash on Championship Court. On one side, Tama Shimabukuro, 14, and AJ Marrero, 16, were the complete underdogs, having come through qualifiers just a day prior, with a combined age of only 30. On the other side of the court stood two U.S. tennis legends, Jack Sock and Donald Young, both considered staples of the tour in their second professional sport careers.
Shimabukuro and Marrero had the edge in game one, leading most of the way with four game-point opportunities. The power of the Sock/Young duo ultimately proved too much, as they mounted a 12-10 comeback. With a few loose shots and Sock/Young playing with more confidence in game two, the opportunity for an upset slipped away, 12-10, 11-4.
Despite bowing out to tough competitors in the early round, we can expect to see more of Shimabukuro and Marrero on the PPA Tour!
Parenteau, Alshon breeze through with a statement win
Catherine Parenteau and Christian Alshon needed just under 25 minutes to dismantle Pesa Teoni and Paula Rives in an 11–0, 11–3 win. Game one lasted only eight minutes, while game two went a bit longer, with Teoni and Rives mustering three points. Parenteau and Alshon now face the Truong siblings, Alix and Jonathan, in the Round of 32.
Team Selkirk round of 64 results
Shannon Pretorius def. Dominique Schaefer, 11-7, 12-10
Polina Libo def. Allison Phillips, 12-14, 11-3, 11-1
Marshall Brown def. Ryan Sherry, 11-4, 11-5
Jack Sock def. Stephen Madonia, 11-9, 11-6
Jack Sock/Donald Young def. AJ Marrero/Tama Shimabukuro, 12-10, 11-4
Rachel Rohrabacher/Noe Khlif def. Mya Bui/Mota Alhouni, 11-6, 11-3
Catherine Parenteau/Christian Alshon def. Pesa Teoni/Paula Rives, 11-0, 11-3
Tune in
The Cincinnati Slam continues tomorrow with the round of 32. Tune in on Pickleball TV!
